Barefoot / Guest Blog

What is good running form?

In his second guest blog, ultra runner and personal trainer Piers Stockwell outlines what he believes makes good running form:

1. Our feet must land on the ground underneath our centre of mass to allow our suspension system of our ankles, knees and hips to work effectively. The feet will land on the fore foot first but then kiss the ground lightly with the heel.

2. We drive our leg backwards using our glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps muscles. Our stride power comes from underneath you to behind you not infront of you.

3. Our foot needs to be picked up off the floor without extending the ankle which forces us to get our stride from the powerful gluteal muscles and hamstrings.

4. We return our leg forwards while keeping the knee bent creating a shorter lever arm and moving our knee forward enough so that we can drive our foot back down underneath us. If the knee doesn’t come far enough forward it is difficult to drive   down underneath us and will result in extending your leg in front of you.

5. We must have good core strength to maintain a good posture. If we slump while running, it causes our pelvis to tilt resulting in putting our feet out in front of us again. By keeping a good posture, we will be able to drive our legs underneath us.

6. Arms are often forgotten about but play a key role in providing power to your legs through a cross of muscle from our shoulder to the opposite buttock. Arms must have approximately a 90 degree angle swinging forwards and slightly across us       but not crossing our centre line.

7. Our head should be pulled slightly back with our chin down to get our head centred on top of our body to maintain good posture. A 7kg head pushed forward will eventually pull the rest of your posture down with it.